Sharing Space
by Eternal Love Song
Summary: Todoroki can't sleep. While he's sitting in the dorm common room, has an unexpected interaction with one of his dorm mates.


It was after midnight. The common room was dark and completely silent. His classmates had all gone to bed long ago, leaving Todoroki awake and alone. A cold cup of tea sat on the table before him and every few minutes he would pick it up, warm it with his quirk, and place it back on the table. It was faster than getting up and walking the short distance to the kitchen and it gave him a small bit of practice with his fire side.

Yaoyorozu had made the tea for him before she'd gone to bed. It was supposed to help him sleep, but this was the third night she left it for him and it didn't make a dent in his sleep troubles. He didn't blame her or the tea for not working. For the past few days he had been having bad dreams. Memories continued to plague his mind whenever he closed his eyes. Nightmares nibbled on his resting thoughts, driving him up and out of bed. His body felt the strain of the day and he wanted to sleep, but sleep seems not to want him in return. He didn't want her efforts to go to waste, though. That was why, even though he had no intention of drinking it, he was still keeping it warm. He appreciated her effort, that she bothered to make any effort at all, no matter how small.

"Ow!" The small cry was followed by a thud. "Crap. Why is it so dark?" The voice of one of his female classmates whined.

Todoroki looked around for whichever of his classmates had entered the room. He was surprised to see his pink classmate crawling around on her hands and knees as she moved into view.

"Ashido, what are you doing down there?" He asked her.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "Todoroki? What are you doing sitting in the dark?"

"I couldn't sleep," He told her. He watched her a moment longer before asking, "Did you drop something?"

"Only myself," She responded with a small laugh. "I just tripped because it's so freaking dark in here! I was afraid I'd fall again, so I just decided to stay where I was."

"Crawling on the floor?" He asked in bemusement.

"Do you know how much it hurts to stub your toe in the middle of the night?" She asked him.

"No," He answered honestly. His room wasn't really laid out in a way that he was likely to injure himself and he usually stayed aware of his surroundings enough to avoid such complications. Her words did compel him to ask a follow up, though. "Does it hurt more at night?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Ashido answered. She was still on the floor, but now she was slowly making her way toward him. "Nighttime is supposed to be a pleasant comfortable time. Everything bad that happens is twice as bad!"

Belatedly, it occurred to Todoroki that he should help her. He was nowhere near the light switch, so he simply held up his left hand and ignited it.

"Oh!" Ashido smiled at him. "Thank you! That's much better."

"No problem," He told her.

Ashido rose promptly from the floor and came toward him, dropping herself on the opposite side of the couch he was sitting on. She let out a deeply relaxed sigh she slouched into it. They shared a few moments in silence before Todoroki's curiosity piqued again.

"What did you come in here for?" He questioned.

She gave him a friendly smile from her slouched position. "I couldn't sleep either. I was hoping to find something that could help."

Todoroki gestured to the table. "Yaoyorozu made this tea. It could help."

Ashido sat up and reached for it with obvious gratitude before pausing, fingers on the handle of the mug. "Isn't this for you, though?"

"It's okay. I'm not going to drink it," He told her. "I did keep it warm though."

"Yes!" She cheered, picking up the mug and drinking immediately. She jumped back a moment later, sticking out her tongue. "Hot! Hot!"

Todoroki watched her antics with mild amusement. Ashido was really lively. A lot of his classmates were, but she seemed to have the most energy in the whole class. The only girl he was used to spending alone time with was Yoayorozu and she was completely different. She was nurturing, soft-spoken, and studious. The two girls were basically opposites and it was... Interesting to spend time with someone so different.

Ashido let out a loud sigh as the tea cooled enough for her to take a large gulp. "Yaomomo's tea is so good!"

"You're really lively for how late it is," Todoroki pointed out.

She laughed. "Yeah. I get a little manic when I'm tired." She curled up a little on the couch tucking her legs up under her. "It really sucks sometimes, having all this energy, but still feeling too tired to use it."

Ashido's eyes were starting to droop. She held her mug of tea close to her chest and huddled into the couch. A relaxed atmosphere had fallen over the room, wrapping around them both. Todoroki was struck by how comfortable and messy she looked. It was... somehow appealing. Surprisingly so. "

"Be careful that you don't spill that," he told her. She looked as if she could drop off to sleep at any moment.

"Don't worry," Ashido said softly. She took another long slurping slip. "I won't let Yaomomo's tea go to waste."

They fell silent as Ashido continued to sip her tea and Todoroki just watched her. It wasn't as if he had anything else to do. He still didn't feel able to sleep. Though he was enjoying the company. He hadn't thought that it would be so relaxing to keep company with the most active girl in class, but he was being proven wrong. Ashido finished off her tea and practically cuddled the mug as she closed her eyes.

"You should get to bed, Ashido." Todoroki told her.

"I'm going," She answered.

Ashido didn't get to bed. Within a few minutes her breathing had become soft and rhythmic, and she had fallen asleep. Todoroki wouldn't feel right leaving her here alone. He reached over and gently pulled the mug out of her grasp, setting it down on the table. Then he made himself comfortable on the other end of the couch and extinguish the flame he held in his hand.


End file.
